January 2, 2013

I think the part that I really took away though as I watched it was this:

I waste a lot of time trying to change the things I did a loooong time ago. I set goals and then I try for about a month and the next year I pull them out and dust them off, then I beat myself up, and instead of trying to change where I went wrong, I set the SAME ones again.

Maybe this year I need to change my goals as I go along. Or maybe I need to set more realistic goals. Let me give you an example...

We recently moved to a place that is 2 1/2 hours away from where we lived before. This just so happens that means that we are only 15 min from a temple. Our goal previously was to attend the temple 4 times a year. Once every 3 months. We did really good at this, but was it still realistic in our new home?

I say No.

We changed it to mean that we did date night at the temple AT LEAST once a month. We have lived here for just over 2 months and it has been wonderful to be able to attend more often.

This would not be possible if I was not willing to change my goals.

Then I got to thinking about the goals my children set.

Do I set them up to fail?

Do I let them set unrealistic goals so far out there that it is hard to attain or work towards them?

So, I sat down and made a little worksheet for them as they try to work out what they want to do. I tried to include a few areas of their life. I want them to brainstorm a few ideas. For example: Under the heading "Goals about Education" they could say things like, finish my grade 8 and move onto grade 9 math, read ___ many books, be happier and approach my learning with a happy face, or whatever they want to improve on this year education wise.

I purposely worded things so that I could also use this worksheet for my goals. I want to be able to work some out that will be flexible, but also more worthy goals for this year.

I am going to use mine for our FHE this Monday. We need to have goals, and I am excited to see my children set good goals for this year.

Here is the worksheet. Just click and save to your computer. Print from there. It is a full size jpeg.

Jaime is a boy raising, garden planning, meal making, homeschooling mom of 3 boys. This year, she hopes to attain some of her goals so that next year she can feel good about the ones she set this year!